


The Magic of Christmas (Eve) Time

by percyyoulittleshit



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas fic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 05:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17155760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyyoulittleshit/pseuds/percyyoulittleshit
Summary: When Annabeth Chase pictured her first Christmas with Percy Jackson as a married couple, the picture on her mind didn't include her having the worst cold possible. But sometimes the best memories are the ones that you never saw coming.





	The Magic of Christmas (Eve) Time

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas! I hope you guys have a wonderful day and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you had amazing holidays!   
> Some of you can see that most of my Christmas stories are actually set on Christmas Eve, that's because I'm Mexican and we celebrate on the 24 and my family don't do anything on the 25 except eat leftovers for the Christmas (eve) dinner.

Rosy cheeks from a maybe fever, runny nose, sore throat, and too many sneezes was not what Annabeth had planed her first Christmas Eve as a married woman to be, but the fates hardly ever listened to mortals. Annabeth sneezed for the tenth time in five minutes and none of the Jackson-Blofises acknowledge it, they had stopped saying ‘ _ Bless you’ _ many, many sneezes ago. She was currently sitting in the living room surrounded by a sea of blankets, half watching the cheesy Hallmark movie on the tv and half watching her new family get ready for Christmas. She still felt giddy and warm when she thought of Sally, Paul, and Estelle as her family. Sally and Percy were baking and decorating cookies while Paul and Estelle decorated the tree, the kitchen/living room/dining room at the Jackson-Blofis home was in total holiday mode.

The first Christmas (Eve) she had spent at the Jackson-Blofis house had been when she and Percy were seventeen. They had spent the whole day decorating the small apartment, making ornaments, eating the cookies Sally and Percy baked and watching Christmas movies. She and Percy had fallen asleep in the living room, waking up on Christmas morning to the smell of Sally making breakfast. It had been one the happiest moments in Annabeth’s life and every year Christmas with Percy was something she looked forward to. Growing up she had spent almost every Christmas at camp and they really didn’t celebrate much Christmas. Camp was filled with a variety of kids of all ages and religions, not to mention they were kids from the  _ gods _ , they just did the minimum: a few decorations here and there, some eggnog, a few presents and dinner according to their sacred days. Christmases with her family weren’t good memories either. Before her dad married they used to spend the holidays in Boston. She and Magnus had played while the adults fought, there was no putting up Christmas decorations, her uncle Randolph barely had a tree in his mansion. And then there were the holidays after her dad married, before the twins came around her dad had tried: he had taken her to the ballet, where six-year-old Annabeth fell asleep, her stepmother had made dinner and it had been nice, somehow. But by the next December, she had already run away. And then, years later she started dating Percy Jackson and Christmas suddenly had a different meaning to her. But this year, for the first time in the seven Christmases she had spent with the Jackson-Blofises, she felt like an outsider.    


“Are you okay Mrs. Jackson?” She still hadn’t taken his last name legally and he kept telling her it was okay if she never did, but even so, Percy loved calling her Mrs. Jackson as much as he loved calling her his wife, but who was she to judge when she still felt giddy every time she introduced him as her husband. 

Annabeth opened her eyes, she didn’t remember closing them, and looked at her husband who was standing in front of her. While Percy’s tone had been playful his face betrayed him. His eyebrows were scrunched in that way that told her he was worried about her. 

“Yeah,” She managed to croak and tried to smile at him, but by the way he pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, it probably had looked more like a grimace than a smile.

“Well, you don’t look fine.” Percy rested the back of his hand against her forehead, just like she had taught him.  _ ‘You need to check for a fever with the back of your hand, Seaweed Brain, not your palm _ .’ She had told him many, many years ago, she had been so sure he hadn’t paid attention to her but now she couldn’t help but smile at him. “Well, it doesn’t look like you have a fever.”

“I told you I’m fine.”

“And I’m telling you, you don’t look fine.” He pushed back some curls that had fallen into her face. His hand moved to her cheek and he started caressing her skin, Annabeth relaxed into his touch. “Did you take anything before we left the house?”

“No, our first aid kit is perfect for monster attacks but not for something like a cold.” 

Percy snorted. “We need to fix that, alright.” Percy traced her lips with his fingers before moving his hand. “Mom, I’m going to the pharmacy to get Annabeth some cold meds, Paul can you call that little Mexican restaurant mom gets us the rice soup from when we get sick and order one? I’ll  pick it up on my way back.” 

“Okay dear, take your jacket!”

“Yeah, let me look for their number.”

“I’m not going to take long, okay?” Percy said, turning back to Annabeth, “Try to get some sleep in the meantime.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, making her smile. “Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

Annabeth nodded. “I love you.”

“I love you too, I’ll be back soon.”

Annabeth had wanted to fall asleep, but it was hard when your nose refused to work and your body didn’t stop sneezing. She wasn’t shivering that much anymore, but her whole body was hurting.

“You can go and rest for a little, love,” Sally said catching Annabeth’s attention. She was standing close to the couch, with a mug in her hands and concern in her eyes.

“No, it’s okay, I’m sure I’m going to feel better once I take some meds.” Annabeth pulled her blanket closer to her. “Plus, I like being here with you guys, unless you don’t want to hear me sneeze anymore, which I totally understand.” She was only joking, she was a little scared she was ruining their Christmas with her illness. How could they get into the Christmas spirit when she was there in the living room sneezing and coughing like crazy.

“Of course not! We’re very happy and glad to have you here and—” The kitchen’s timer went off, interrupting her. “And it looks like this batch of cookies is done.”

“Okay.”

Sally smiled at Annabeth and extended the mug towards her. “I made you chamomile tea with some honey, drink it before it gets cold, yeah?” Annabeth accepted the mug and took a sip, making Sally smile. “Is it good? Is it too hot?”

“No, no, it’s perfect, thank you so much, Sally.”

“Anything for my daughter-in-law, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything else.” Before going back to the kitchen to work on the cookies Sally gave her a forehead kiss, and the warmth that Annabeth felt go through her body had little to do with the tea and more to do with the motherly action.

Between the hot tea, the cold meds and the warm soup that Percy brought her, Annabeth fell asleep without meaning to. By the time she woke up, it was already dark outside.

“How are you feeling?” 

Paul was sitting on the couch, a book in his hand and a plate of cookies in his lap.

“Better,” She cleared her throat and looked around, trying to find her husband.

“They’re outside giving cookies to Tellie’s favorite neighbors, and she really wanted Percy to go with her, you know how she is with her big brother,” Paul answered her unsaid question, the fact that Paul had stayed to look after her when he didn’t need to also go unsaid and Annabeth felt a smile form on her lips. “They’re probably gonna be home soon.”

“Okay.” She cleared her throat again, while it wasn’t bothering her as much, there was still some discomfort. 

Paul looked at her, and carefully left his book and cookies on the coffee table. “Let me get you some more tea.”

“I’m fine don’t worry.”

“Annabeth, it’s not a problem at all, you should know that by now, and after all, we’re family now.” Paul stood up and picked up Annabeth’s blanket that had fallen to the floor and wrapped it around her shoulders. Paul gave her a kiss on the top of her head, before walking into the kitchen. The small action, the same fatherly one she had seen Paul do with Percy and Tellie when they were sick, made Annabeth’s throat tighten in a way that had nothing to do with her cold.

The front door opened revealing the three missing people. 

“ _ Annabee _ ! You are awake!” Tellie yelled happily when she saw Annabeth. When Estelle was younger she had trouble pronouncing Annabeth’s full name and kept saying Annabee instead, and years later the little girl refused to call her by any other name, not that Annabeth minded at all. “We can decorate the cookies now! And make the gingerbread house!”

“Not so fast,  _ Starfish _ .” Percy tousled her sister’s hair. “We don’t know if she’s feeling better.”

“I am actually,” Annabeth stood up from the chair she’d been laying on for hours. “The meds and the tea worked like ambrosia, but I thought you guys you gave the cookies away.”

“Only the chocolate chip ones, the Christmas ones are still waiting to be decorated,” Sally said.

“See! She is ready!” Tellie laughed and ran towards her. “But I know what I can do to make you get better even faster.”

“Oh? And what is that?”

Tellie gestured for her to get down and Annabeth obliged, bending her knees so she would be the same height as the six-year-old. “Kiss it better!” Tellie giggled before giving Annabeth a big kiss on her forehead. Annabeth couldn’t help but laugh a little about the action. “See! You are feeling better now!”

“You’re right! I am!”

Tellie’s laugh and happy clapping actually made Annabeth feel better, and when Percy’s arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her against his chest it helped her even more. He rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered. “Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to decorated the cookies?”

“Yeah,” She rested her arms on top of his, and in the same low tone he used, she added. “I’m just not taking this blanket off anytime soon.”

She could feel his chuckle. “Good, because it wouldn’t have been the same decorating the cookies without you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s a family tradition, Annabeth, and you are part of this family, without you, the family wouldn’t be complete.”

Annabeth spoke three languages, but they weren’t enough to explain how Percy’s words made her feel, but she knew three words that she could say that would make him understand her true meaning. “I love you, so much. You know that, right?”

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I do, and I love you too, so much.”

They stayed in that pose for a while, watching Tellie, Sally, and Paul prepare the table so they could start decorating the cookies. 

“Okay,” Sally said once everything was ready. “Before we start the cookies there’s something else we need to do.” She walked towards the living room and opened a box that contained the star that went on top of the tree. “We need to put the star on the tree. Annabeth, dear, would you like to do the honors?”

Annabeth gasped. Putting the star on top of the tree had been a little tradition Sally had started when Percy was born, it was part of their celebration. Percy had told her that ever since he could remember, Sally would always make sure there was a tree to put a star on Christmas Eve. It didn’t matter if the tree was twenty centimeters tall or if it didn’t have lights or ornaments, they always put up the star Sally had bought for Percy’s first Christmas. At first, it had been something only Sally and Percy did and then after Sally married Paul, Paul had the honor to put the star on top, that honor later went to Tellie, Sally and Percy usually rotated years lifting her so she could reach. It was something that was absolutely sacred to both mother and son, so much so that the Christmas Percy was missing there hadn’t been a star on the tree. And now Sally was trusting Annabeth with one of her most prized possessions.

“Are you sure?”

The older woman smiled at her. “It’s a Jackson tradition dear, and you are a Jackson now.”

Annabeth laughed. “Yeah, I am.” She let go of her husband’s arms, and with all the gentleness she could muster, she picked up the little star from Sally’s hand. 

Annabeth’s first Christmas Eve as a married woman had not been what she had been expecting, but as her husband picked her up so she could reach the top of the tree while Sally and Tellie cheered and Paul took pictures, Annabeth wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.


End file.
